One of Bergen County's newest restaurants is literally hovering over the Hudson River.

Pier 115 Bar & Grill, which sits at the very end of a pier, was once the corporate headquarters for NY Waterway. "It feels like you are on a ship when you are here," says restaurateur Jeremy Casilli.

After extensive renovations to convert the former office space into a restaurant, Pier 115 had its soft opening in late June.

Casilli, who also owns AOA Bar & Grill in New York City, operates the restaurant with partners Scott Heagney and Eric Foster. The chef is Dennis Cruz, formerly of Gotham Bar and Grill and The Four Seasons.

"I always emphasize to the staff that if they applied to work at a restaurant, they came to the wrong place," Casilli says. "I consider the hospitality industry to be show business: When the curtains are drawn and the lights go up, you're live onstage and it's time to perform for your audience.

"After saying that for all these years, Pier 115 provides the perfect backdrop for the show that's about to come. The backdrop changes every day. One day, we had a huge tanker parked out front; then the next day, a pirate sailboat. It's like a perpetually moving backdrop."

Specialties include a starter of truffled mac and cheese ($13), served in an individual iron skillet, and entrées such as house smoked bourbon baby back ribs ($18), miso Chilean sea bass ($26), beer-battered cod filet ($17) and lobster roll ($22).

A customer favorite is the Pier 115 Tsunami Burger ($18), made with a house blend of ground beef and topped with bacon, grilled pineapple, scallions, soy glaze and sriracha sauce, all on a brioche bun.

A wood-fired pizza oven is a centerpiece in the dining room, producing popular items like arugula pizza ($13) and a German pretzel served with a cheddar ale sauce ($9).

"We are pushing out some really good pizzas," Casilli says. "The dough is airy and chewy. It's a perfect combination." The pies are topped with a homemade tomato sauce, not just crushed tomatoes.

Casilli says Cruz is "also a well-honed pastry chef." Pier 115's desserts are made in-house and feature items such as pistachio crème brûlée and ricotta cheesecake.

Pier 115, 115 River Road, Edgewater, was designed to accommodate a range of customers, Casilli says, with 22 flat-screen televisions, a private dining room and the Q Dock Lounge that stays open until 3 a.m. It also offers serene outdoor dining on the River Deck, and has installed two floating docks for patrons arriving by boat, Casilli says.

"There's nothing out here like that right now," he says. "The water is so low at the coastline that you have to be out in the river like us [to allow guests to arrive by boat]," he adds.

"I love when I walk through the dining room and I see a stroller next to a table, and a couple from the university, and an older couple," Casilli says. "And then in Q Dock later in the night, we see a high-energy crowd. The DJ starts up at 11 p.m."

The diversity of Pier 115's customers "builds longevity," he says. "If you build an institution for the neighborhood, people will keep coming back."